The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for improving the efficiency with which different types of data are transmitted via a plurality of transmission lines. More specifically, the present invention provides methods and apparatus which allocate voice and data transmissions among two or more telephone lines according to a user specified hierarchy.
Currently, many residential consumers of telecommunications services have two telephone lines connected to their homes, the first one of which is used primarily for voice transmissions, and the second one of which is employed for a wide range of activities such as, for example, Internet access, faxing, and telecommuting. For the majority of users, the second line, often referred to as a data line, is idle much of the time resulting in an inefficient use of transmission resources. Moreover, if a voice transmission is occurring on the voice line, the user may miss a subsequent voice transmission because the line is occupied. One way of avoiding this, of course, is to receive voice transmissions via both lines. However, most users prefer not to give out the number for their second line because they want it to remain open for incoming data transmissions.
A number of service options are available from telecommunications providers which address some aspects of the problem described above. For example, "call-waiting" allows a user to receive an incoming voice call while engaged in a first voice call on the same line, and to switch between the two transmissions. Unfortunately, this requires affirmative action by the user. In addition, as will be understood by consumers of this service, manually screening every incoming call can be inconvenient. Another service, "automatic-busy-call-forwarding", automatically forwards an incoming call to a designated number, e.g., the user's data line, if the voice line is currently engaged. However, this solution runs contrary to the desire of most users to keep their data line open for incoming data transmissions. In addition, if the data line is occupied, the call cannot be forwarded and the service is defeated.
It is therefore desirable to provide a technique for allocating voice and data transmissions between two or more phone lines based on a particular user's priorities, the implementation of which is transparent to the user.